


In An Instant

by snapdragon76



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drunk Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Gendrya - Freeform, Gendrya -- freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sex, Surprise pregnancy, Thirst Thy Name Is Arya, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:27:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24292846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapdragon76/pseuds/snapdragon76
Summary: Arya has a drunken one-night stand with a gorgeous stranger.She never imagined she’d ever see him again… or how their lives would be forever linked.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 184
Kudos: 369





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I know I seem to write a lot of Modern AU fics with these two, but it's easiest for me to write them in that setting, so here we are.
> 
> The premise itself isn't new. This is just my interpretation of it. I hope you enjoy.

[ ](https://imgur.com/WYF0ZQ8)

Arya cracked an eye open. As soon as she realized she was conscious, her head took the opportunity to pound out a drum solo behind her eyes. 

_ I never should’ve had all those tequila shots… _

She vaguely remembers someone challenging her to see how many shots they could down in the span of five minutes. She won, but barely.

It didn’t feel like much of a victory now.

She did remember gloating about it to her drinking partner. He (he? Yes, it was definitely a he) was pretty drunk too if she remembered correctly.

Arya took a chance to slightly lift her head off of the pillow. Even this brought on a new wave of agony.

_ No more tequila. Ever. _

As her eyes began to focus, she noticed that she didn’t recognize her surroundings. She squinted at the side table next to her. 

Nope. Definitely not her nightstand.

She did know she was in a bed. She could feel the smoothness of the sheets beneath her. Which caused her to realize something else.

She was naked.

Very naked.

Not even in underwear naked.

As she started to gather more of her wits about her, she noticed something else.

A pleasant sort of throbbing in between her legs.

_ Oh dear Gods, what happened last night?! _

Arya squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her tequila pickled brain to remember more details of the night before. 

Flashes came to her. Of a tall and extremely handsome stranger with intense blue eyes and shaggy black hair. 

Her drinking companion.

She couldn’t see all of his features. Just bits and pieces. Like those eyes, and a strong and muscular torso. And rough but gentle hands roaming her body and her coming undone in ecstasy. 

Her hand roamed down and touched in between her thighs, her cunt tender and swollen from the pounding it had taken the night before. Other images came to her mind. Mouths and tongues entangled, her hands gripping soft, black hair. His mouth all over her, electrifying her. A hardened cock filling her up and sending her over the edge.

_ Fuuuuuuuuck… _

Arya slowly sat up, sheets pooling around her waist. She could hear the soft sounds of someone sleeping.

She knew it was him.

She never even got his name.

Not that she’d even remember it at this point anyway.

She thinks long and hard. Did they use protection, or were they both too inebriated to even bother? She knew she was on birth control, but that was never 100% effective. She glanced at a wrapper lying on the floor.

It was a condom wrapper.

_ Oh, thank Gods… _

She picked it up and looked at it. It was one of those party favor condoms she’d gotten at Ygritte’s bachelorette party about a year and a half ago. She glanced around and spotted her purse on the floor, along with clothing. It was the same purse she’d brought with her to the party. The condom must’ve been still inside.

_ Thank the Gods, both old and new. _

She carefully climbs out of the bed, trying not to jostle her head any more than necessary.

Arya gathers her clothes, or the clothes she can find. She searches around for her bra and has no idea where it landed when he removed it last night. To be fair, she was more focused on where his hands and mouth were rather than where her underwear went.

She stubbornly ignored the pounding in her head as she searched for her shirt, which she also couldn’t find. So, all she could find were her jeans and her panties. The throbbing between her thighs ebbed slightly, reminding her again of the activities the night before. 

With a stranger.

That she met in a bar.

When they were drunk.

Granted, he was a smoking hot stranger, with the bluest eyes she’d ever seen on any person alive, but still…

The shirt hunt being fruitless, she grabbed one off of the floor, presumably one of his since it smelled strongly of his aftershave — which sent a wave of heat to her core — and tossed it on. She swam in it.

Her still sensitive nipples rubbed against the thin fabric and began to pucker, causing her to shiver with pleasure. Suddenly, she was again thrown back to the night before, where he had lavished her breasts with his tongue, his mouth, and his teeth. 

Shit. The last thing she needed to do was have a spontaneous orgasm right there as she was trying to leave. Arya peeked over her shoulder and saw him lying in bed, on his stomach with his magnificent ass poking out of the sheets. 

The echoes of it clenching under her hands as he had thrust into her crossed her mind as she shifted her focus to the tattoo on his shoulder. It was very distinct. It was of a bull, half of which was rendered realistically, and the other half geometrically. It was overlaid on a splash of blue, which looked like a watercolor had been splashed on his skin. 

Carefully as to not wake him, Arya tiptoed out of his bedroom and down the hall and out the front door. She’d put her shoes on when she got outside. 

She’d go home and take a shower and maybe grab a bite to eat. She’d have to control herself in order to not fondle herself while she was in the shower, trying to recapture the way his strong hands and long nimble fingers felt over her and inside her.

Arya looked down at her phone to see that it hadn’t gone dead. Good. She could call an Uber and it’d pick her up.

Only, she didn’t know where she was.

She looked around. It was a nice neighborhood, with little bungalow houses lined up along a tree-lined street. She carefully made her way down the porch, not trusting herself to tumble down them in her current state. She looked back and saw the number on the house. It still didn’t say which street she was on.

Behind her, she heard the sounds of someone sweeping. She looked and saw an older lady sweeping her porch. The woman looked at Arya with a slight twinkle in her eye.

“Good morning,” the lady greeted her, wizened hands tightly gripping her broom.

Arya crept over to where the woman was standing.

“Hi there. I hope this doesn’t sound odd, but do you know what street this is?”

The woman smiled at her warmly. 

“Yes, of course, dear. It’s Targaryen Trail. In between Baratheon Boulevard and Martell Avenue.”

“Thank you so much, I appreciate it,” Arya told her, before ringing up a ride and giving them directions.

When she had finished the lady spoke again.

“While you wait, you can sit here on one of the chairs on my porch if you’d like. He’s a nice young man, but he doesn’t have a lot of company over. And I can get you some water too.”

Arya looked at the lady. She was elderly, presumably in her late seventies or something, with silver-white hair and warm eyes. It’s not like she’d invited her to wait inside, just on the porch, within eyesight of the street.

“Yes, that would be very nice. Thank you,” Arya replied.

She went and sat on the wicker chair and pinched her eyes shut momentarily while the lady went inside to fetch some water. How could she be so foolish? Here she was, newly moved to the area, and she was out getting drunk and having sex with random strangers in bars.

A breeze wafted past, causing a chill to go through her. She then remembered the way she burned with heat as the gorgeous stranger from the bar moved over her and inside of her. She had to squeeze her thighs shut as pressure built up in her belly. 

Gods he felt so good though. And it had been so long since she’d had sex.

Her reveries were interrupted by the sound of the screen door opening and the older lady handing her a glass of water. She took it and thanked her.

“No problem, dearie. My name is Mrs. Fischer. Elsa Fischer. It’s been quite a while since he had a girl over. And you look like a nice one,” she said and patted Arya’s hand affectionately.

Mrs. Fischer seemed like such a nice lady. Arya couldn’t bring herself to tell her that she had no idea what the name of the guy was as she’d been seen sneaking out of his house.

Soon enough, the Uber car had pulled up and Arya got up and thanked Mrs. Fischer for letting her sit on her porch while she waited. She had wondered if that was what having a grandmother was like. She never knew her grandparents since they had died before she was born. 

Arya waved back at Mrs. Fischer as she got into the car. She threw a glance at the house next door. There was no sign he’d woken up. 

Good. It was just as well.

She’d most likely never see or hear from him again.


	2. Month One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya finds herself in an unexpected situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again, with another chapter. And it's a long one.
> 
> Sorry.
> 
> But, we officially meet Gendry, so yay!
> 
> And congrats to those who figured out what was going to happen. Well done. I hope no one is going to be too disappointed with how things turn out. 
> 
> Get your glasses of water ready. The Thirst Train is pulling into the station.

[ ](https://imgur.com/UyWCDcq)

It was raining, yet again.

Arya figured that the Stormlands were aptly named due to the sheer amount of storms and rain the area got bombarded with. As a side effect, it did mean that the grass and trees were very lush and green, which was beautiful in its own sort of way.

Not that she still didn’t miss the snow and mountains of the North. 

But, after she finished grad school, she wanted to move somewhere where no one knew her family connections. Somewhere that she could make her own name for herself and become her own person. 

While she did miss her family, they had their own lives.

Sansa was married and living in Highgarden, a rising star in the world of fashion design.

Robb and Jeyne and their brood were in Winterfell, running their dad’s business after he’d died.

Jon was in the service and stationed at the Wall, way up North, along with Ygritte, and she wasn’t able to talk to him as much as she’d like to.

Bran was at school, working on his master’s degree in history and philosophy.

Rickon was still in high school and involved in sports.

And her mom was being the dutiful socialite and hosting events and fundraisers.

Arya had been excited when an accounting firm in Storm’s End wanted to hire her, and the salary was decent enough.

All she had to do now was try and find a place to live that was within working distance and was decent so she wouldn’t have to live in a hotel anymore.

It had been several weeks since her encounter with her tall, dark, and handsome stranger, yet he was never too far from her mind. Now that she had sobered up significantly, she could recall that fateful night with a bit more clarity. Especially how his hands, his mouth, and his cock had felt.

Sadly, his face was still a blur. All she could picture were a pair of intense dark blue eyes. 

She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t often thought of that night again, while in the shower or in her bed at night. Usually, she woke with her panties wet and the deep ache within her unfulfilled.

She’d only ever had sex with one other person, whom she had been in a relationship with. It had run its course, however, and she’d been without sex for a good six months before her roll in the hay with the Bull, as she’d taken to calling him in her head, due to his tattoo. Well, maybe other reasons as well.

Arya had texted Sansa about it when she’d gotten home and slept off her hangover.

_ OMG, I need deets!! _ Sansa had replied.

She had ended up calling her because this was not a conversation one had over text. Sansa was practically giddy with excitement.

“So, you’re telling me that you had a night of wild, drunken sex with Mr. Hunky Dreamboat, and you don’t even know his name?!”

Arya sighed, “Yes, Sans. That’s exactly what I’m saying. And before you ask, no, he did not take advantage of me in my condition. We… kinda took advantage of each other since he was just as drunk as I was. And yes, we used protection.”

“What did you use?” Sansa had asked.

Arya rolled her eyes. 

“One of those party favor condoms we’d gotten at Ygritte’s bachelorette party.”

“Really? That was like, 18 months ago. Are you sure it was still good?”

“What do you mean?” Arya asked, confused.

“Condoms expire, Arya. Like, they’re good for a year, and then they lose their effectiveness. You didn’t know?”

Arya began to slowly panic.

“No, I didn’t know! I’ve only had sex with one other person, Sansa! How was I supposed to know condoms expire?!?!”

Panic was starting to rise within her. Condoms expired?! Even though she was on the pill, things could still happen.

“Calm down, I’m sure it’s ok. Maybe take one of those home pregnancy tests just to make sure,” Sansa told her.

“Would it even work this early?” 

“Better take more than one. And go see a doctor to get checked out.”

After that, Arya had made a trip to the store to pick up a handful of those quick pregnancy tests and had made an appointment with her doctor. 

She had started feeling a little off for a while. A little queasy and out of sorts. She simply chalked it up to the after-effects of the tequila she drank and then perhaps something she ate not agreeing with her and her nerves at still settling in at her new job in addition to the stress of trying to find a place to live.

She was only 23. She didn’t know if she’d be prepared for a baby at this point. She was determined not to make a mountain out of a molehill. She’d take the tests and get checked out and things would be fine.

Just fine.

Arya took the first one a few days after talking to Sansa. Nothing showed up, so she began to relax. 

Still, she felt off and couldn’t put her finger on why exactly. Her breasts began to feel sore and she’d thought it was simply the onset of her cycle. 

When the time came for her cycle to arrive… it didn’t. She was always pretty regular, so she didn’t want to panic yet.

So, she took another test.

Positive.

An invisible hand clenched at her heart.

She waited a few days before taking another one.

Positive.

She took another. And another.

All positive.

Arya tried not to have an emotional breakdown in the middle of the bathroom.

It was time for her doctor’s appointment and more tests were done, this time with bloodwork.

Yes, she was definitely pregnant.

_ Fuck. _

The doctor had done a sonogram and she pointed out a pea-sized image of the baby. 

“This is quite an unusual circumstance here, Ms. Stark. Usually, women don’t find out they’re pregnant until they’re several more weeks along,” her doctor told her.

_ Yeah, lucky me. _

“However, with as advanced as many tests are nowadays, many can find out two weeks or so after conception,” she continued.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Arya told her.

“I’ll give you a few moments to yourself while you get dressed and process things.”

“Thanks, doctor.”

Arya buried her face in her hands. How could she be so careless? It wasn’t that she didn’t like children. She did. She just wasn’t prepared to have one yet. 

The doctor did explain to her that there were… options in case she didn’t want to keep it. Arya couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not that she didn’t think someone didn’t have the right to do so if they wanted, but she didn’t think she could go through with it. 

Besides, she was beginning to warm up to the idea.

She didn’t know what she was going to tell her family. Her mom especially would flip her lid at the fact that she was unmarried and pregnant. And that she had no idea who the father was. 

Arya figured she’d wait. She was only a few weeks along and she didn’t want to jinx anything in case something were to happen.

She got to the room and changed her clothes. She figured a trip to the gym would be good to work out her anxiety. The doctor had said she could still continue her normal workout routine, but not overdo it. The hotel gym was too small and crowded, so she’d gone to a larger one not far from the hotel. 

It was a decent looking gym. Large and spacious, with bright lights and a clean locker room and exercise areas. 

To the left of the entrance was an indoor basketball court with a few guys playing a pickup game. 

She caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye and she had to do a double-take. 

There was that bull tattoo!

It’s him.

_ Him _ .

The guy from the bar.

The guy she drank all those tequila shots with.

The guy she went home with.

The guy she had incredible sex with.

The guy who got her pregnant.

Good Gods he was beautiful!

_ Wow. That amazingly gorgeous man impregnated me?!  _

He was playing basketball shirtless. How could she have forgotten those incredible muscles?! The way they flexed and stretched under his smooth skin. His musculature wasn’t grotesque, like steroid addicted weight lifters or anything. It was long and lean and sinewy. 

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the trail of black hair leading from his navel to the waistband of his shorts. She nearly salivated.

_ Wow, those pregnancy hormones are potent! _

He’d stopped to catch a breath and he ran a hand through his thick black hair. Yes, she started to remember that hair, how it felt in her hands while she was gripping his head as he ate her out.

A jolt of heat went straight to her core.

He took a swig of water and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he drank. She also remembered her tongue licking that throat as she lapped salt off of his skin during their tequila binge.

Arya never thought she’d ever see him again, and there was opportunity dumping him all hot and sweaty into her lap.

She took a deep breath and inhaled.

“Hey, Bull!!” she shouted to him from the side of the indoor court. He glanced up to where she was standing, a bewildered look on his face.

She huffed out a breath and stalked over to where he was standing like a stupid idiot.

“Do I know you?” he asked, his voice deep and alluring. 

Damn him.

“I sure hope you do,” she accosted him. 

He still looked confused. Gods, was he stupid or something?

Arya sighed in frustration.

“Maybe this will jog your memory,” she said and proceeded to grab his face and plant a kiss on his lips.

Bless the old gods and the new because all the feelings and sensations she’d been trying to suppress since the night in question came flooding back to her with that kiss. She sucked on his bottom lip and he opened his mouth and snaked his tongue in. His companions hooted and hollered. 

Yes, that was it. He’s beginning to remember now, she knew he was.

They pulled away, chests heaving. He bored down on her with those deep blue eyes of his. Gods, those eyes of his. She definitely remembered those.

“Tequila Girl?” he questioned, realization coming to him.

“Gods, finally! Yes! Otherwise known as Arya,” she replied.

“Wow! What are the chances we’d run into each other again? That was quite a night we had… what I can remember of it,” he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Well, the moment of truth was at hand.

“Err, yeah. About that…”

He was stricken with horror.

“Please don’t tell me you have a boyfriend? Gods, I don’t do stuff like that. Ever. I don’t just get shitfaced drunk and sleep with random women…” he trailed off.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend! Listen, uhhh…”

“Gendry. Gendry Waters,” he helpfully supplied.

“Yeah, listen Gendry. There’s something you should know…”

“Hey, I think you took my favorite shirt. I loved that shirt. It was nice and soft…”

Arya rolled her eyes, “Yeah, enough about your stupid shirt.”

She sat him down on the benches near the courts. She tried her best to ignore the fact that he was still shirtless and his muscles were glistening with sweat.

_ OK Arya, focus. Don’t look at the way his pecs are flexing and the movement of his stupid tight abs… _

She sighed. She was gonna have to suck it up and tell him. 

“Gendry, about that night. How much of it do you remember?”

He pursed his lips and furrowed his brows in thought. Damn did he look adorable.

“I had gotten a raise that day, so I wanted to go out and celebrate. I’m not a big drinker, but I do seem to remember trying to impress a pretty brown haired girl who kept challenging me to tequila shots.” 

He shot her a smirk. She felt herself blushing and heat beginning to pool in her belly again.

“I took you home, things got hot and heavy and the next thing I remember was waking up and you were gone,” he explained.

Arya nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty much all I remember too,” she lied. She wasn’t about to tell him that it had been the best sex of her life and she still felt the echos of his fingers ghosting over her skin and the heat of his mouth on hers as their tongues explored one another.

She also distinctly remembered riding his face that night, once the haze of tequila had lifted.

She sighed and tried to calm her nerves. 

“There’s something you should know. After that night, there wasn’t anyone else I’d been with for quite a while, and there hadn’t been anyone since then.”

She saw him quirk an eyebrow. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

“I’m - I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

She braced herself for his reaction. Here she was, some random girl coming to him and telling him she was pregnant. By him. What if he had a girlfriend?

Oh Gods, what if he had a girlfriend?!

She looked over at him. He hadn’t moved. His face was white as a sheet and his eyes were wide.

“What?” he choked out.

“I’m pregnant. I took all the tests and got checked out by a doctor and everything.”

“H-how?”

Seriously?! She had hoped he wasn’t just some brain dead jock himbo that she would now be linked to.

“Well, the sperm and the egg meet…”

“No, I know how pregnancy works, dammit! How did we… I mean, we used a condom…” he spluttered.

“Yeaaaaah, that was a party favor given out for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party a while back. It must’ve expired…”

Gendry groaned and placed his head in his hands and propped his elbows on his knees.

Arya just sat there awkwardly. This was a heavy bombshell she’d just dropped, so it was understandable that he was freaked. Hells, she was freaked when she first found out. 

“Do you need a few minutes?” she asked him.

He sighed and dropped one of his hands and used the other to rub at his eyes.

“No, no. I just— fuck…”

She shifted a little on the bench.

“Listen, I’m not asking for money or anything. I’m good. I’m not going to blackmail you or shit like that. I just felt you should know. I never expected to even run into you again, but here we are. You don’t have to do anything at all.”

He lifted his head and looked at her. She couldn’t really read his expression.

“I’m not gonna do that. I’m not gonna leave you in the lurch like that. It’s not fair to you or to the… baby,” he struggled getting that last word out. 

He sighed again. He dropped his head. 

“I promised myself I’d never be like him. Never. Fuck…” he muttered to himself.

Arya looked at him strangely. What in seven hells was he talking about?

Gendry turned to look at her. She almost melted into a puddle of goo right there and then. There was something about his eyes that made her stomach do somersaults. And it wasn’t just his eyes. She scanned across his features. He had magnificent cheekbones that jutted out just so. A sharp jawline that formed a perfectly formed chin. He had an almost boyishness to him. His black hair was disheveled and sticking out in many directions. She had to suppress the urge to run her fingers through it.

No one had ever elicited this sort of reaction from her. Ever. 

She couldn’t explain it. It was magnetic.

“Listen, why don’t we go somewhere where we can talk. Somewhere private and not a noisy public gym. I don’t live too far from here. We can go there if you want. I promise not to make any moves on you or anything to weird you out, ok?” he said.

_ Mr. Gendry Waters, you can do anything you want to me. _

Arya was surprised at the thoughts that were coming unbidden to her head. 

He stood. “Why don’t I go and get cleaned up, and we can go. Unless there’s somewhere else you wanna go and talk?”

Arya stood as well.

_ Dammit. This means he’s gonna have to put a shirt on. _

“No, that sounds fine. We can go to your place,” she told him, matter of factly.

“Great. I’ll be out in a few,” he said and turned to walk towards the men’s locker rooms. Arya couldn’t help but get a nice, long look at his ass as he walked away.

_ I am in soooooo much trouble. _

********

A few moments and a short car ride later, they pulled up to his house. That adorable little bungalow she’d taken her walk of shame from a few weeks prior. She could spy his neighbor, Mrs. Fischer, on her porch. 

Gendry hopped out and actually escorted her to his door. He waved to Mrs. Fischer as they walked up the sidewalk.

“Hello, Elsa!” he greeted.

“Hello there, Gendry! I see you have that lovely young lady with you again!” she returned. Arya could see his face turn bright red. She knew hers was the same by the heat she felt on her cheeks.

“Haha, yes indeed,” was all he said.

He turned to her as he unlocked the door.

“That’s my neighbor, Mrs. Fischer. I do odd jobs for her now and then and she sometimes bakes me things in return. She’s very sweet.”

Arya smiled. “Yes, we… met.”

Gendry turned red again.

“Ahhh, I see…”

When they entered his house, Arya got a better look around than she had the last time she was there. It was quite neat, especially for a young guy who lived alone. 

The furnishings were basic but nice and well structured. The front door opened into the living room, and she noticed a large fish tank sitting in the corner, next to the wall. The kitchen was an open space just beyond the living area, with an island and a medium-sized circular table off to the right. 

Directly to her right, Arya knew, was the master bedroom. 

She also knew the things they had done in that bedroom.

“Nice place,” she said.

Gendry took off his shoes and placed them on a rack by the door. He placed his keys in a bowl on a table above the shoe rack.

“Thanks. It’s not fancy, but it’s home.”

Arya followed suit and removed her shoes and placed them next to his. Her attention was drawn to a delicious aroma emanating from the kitchen.

“Oh my Gods, that smells amazing!”

Gendry smiled. She could see dimples in his cheeks. She was a sucker for dimples.

“Thanks. I put some taco fixings in the slow cooker before I left. It should be just about done.”

He looked at her, a slight twinkle in his cerulean eyes.

“Would you like a taco or two?”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” she demurred.

“It’s no trouble. I made plenty. I’d offer you a beer, but, well…” and he gestured to her stomach.

She placed a hand protectively over her belly.

“Errr, yeah. Right…”

“Go ahead and make yourself at home. I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about,” he said as he headed towards the kitchen.

Arya couldn’t place her finger on it, but his house was very homey. It was comfortable. While she had been used to growing up in a grand manor, there was a certain charm to his little house. 

Gendry moved about the kitchen and got down some plates and glasses and silverware and set them on the round table. Arya took a seat and she could see into his bedroom from where she sat. His bed looked made and the floor was neat, unlike when she’d left in a hurry before. 

“What do you want on your taco?” his voice broke through her thoughts.

“Uhh, whatever fixings you have will do. If you have shredded cheese and tomatoes and sour cream and lettuce…” she trailed off. She hoped she wasn’t sounding too demanding.

“I have all of that. Would you like some water to drink?”

“Yes, that sounds fine, thank you.”

Gendry picked up her plate and returned less than a minute later with her food on it and a glass of ice water. Then he came back with his and sat across from her.

“Thanks for your hospitality, especially since you don’t even know me,” she said and took a bite of her taco. It was utterly delicious.

“It’s no trouble. I would’ve fixed you breakfast if you’d stayed,” he commented before taking his own bite. 

“Besides,” he said after swallowing, “I figured I sorta owed you since I got you pregnant and all.”

He looked down at his plate, his eyebrows furrowed.

He looked up and gazed into her eyes, intense and serious.

“I just want to apologize. I never do shit like that. Pick up random women in bars and take them home with me for a quick fuck. That’s not who I am. It’s not who I want to be. I’m not gonna shirk my responsibility to you and disappear,” he said and ran a hand through his hair.

Arya couldn’t help but give him a small smile. He was being so earnest and sincere. 

“I believe you. It’s not like me either. And for the record, it wasn’t just a quick fuck.”

_ It was the best fucking night of my life. _

“I mean it. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Financially, emotionally, physically. I can take a DNA test if you want me too. I mean, as far as I know, I don’t have any hereditary illnesses or anything like that."

“That’s good to know,” she said.

They finished up their meal with a little small talk and then moved over to the sofa.

“So, what is it you do? You said you were celebrating a promotion,” she had asked him.

“Yeah, I work for an engineering company. We design products that are ergonomic and more efficient and stuff like that. What about you? What do you do?”

“I work for an accounting firm in the city. I just moved here recently and am still trying to get established.”

Gendry smiled at her, showing off those dimples. “Another math geek. Awesome.”

Arya felt herself blushing. She’d never peg him for a geek or anything. He certainly didn’t look like one.

******

“Are you ever going to return my shirt?”

“Maybe.”

*******

“The Stags?! How can you like the Stags?! The Winterfell Direwolves are the best!”

“Hey, I like what I like! They won the championship three years in a row!”

“Nothing but a fluke…”

********

“Wait, are you telling me you watch  _ The Real Housewives of King’s Landing _ ?!”

“What can I say, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. Everyone has one, even you  _ m’lady _ .”

“Don’t you even… and yeah I do.  _ As The Raven Flies _ . It’s a cheesy soap opera, but it’s addictive…”

"Ha! I knew it!!”

********

“You restore things?”

“Yeah, I have a little shed out back that I use as a workshop. I’ll show it to you some time. I restore stuff like old tools, toys, household appliances. I fix a lot of things for Mrs. Fischer.”

“That sweet old lady has you wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, she does.”

********

Arya hadn’t even noticed how late it was getting or how much it had started storming until a crash of thunder brought it to her attention.

She looked at her watch.

“Wow! Is that the time! I hadn’t realized how late it was! I should really get going, but I’d need to call a car service…”

“It’d never arrive in this storm. I do have a guest room, but there’s no bed in it. And the other room is an office. Why don’t I crash on the sofa tonight and you can take my bed,” Gendry offered.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t displace you or anything.”

“Hey, it’s no trouble whatsoever, I promise. I can even loan you a shirt or something to sleep in, as long as you promise to give it back.”

“As long as you’re sure…” Arya hesitated. The swooping sensation in her belly returned. She knew it couldn’t be the baby since it was only the size of a bean at this point if that.

“I’m sure. Here, let’s go find you something and I can get me something to wear too.”

Gendry stood and walked over to his bedroom. Arya followed, keeping a foot or so behind him and hovering in his doorway. She cast a glance over to his bed and she felt herself flush.

He opened up a drawer in his dresser and fished out a t-shirt. He grabbed what looked like a pair of shorts and handed the shirt to her.

“The bathroom is in there so you can get changed. Let me know if you need anything, ok?”

Arya nodded. He stepped out and closed the door behind him.

“Good night,” she heard him say behind the door.

“Night,” she whispered back.

She held up his shirt. It smelled like him. That musky, woodsy scent she’d noticed before. She could feel herself getting wet again. 

Why did he have this effect on her? Was it the change in her hormones? Or something else?

She went into the bathroom and changed. His shirt hung to just below her ass, the soft fabric rubbing against her nipples, causing them to harden. She grit her teeth.

She had to hold it together. 

Arya turned off the light and crawled into the bed. Her mind began flashing back to that night a few weeks ago when he’d pounded her into that very mattress. She gripped the sheets, willing herself not to come all over his bed.

Again.

With the pounding of the rain on the roof and the crack of thunder, she somehow managed to drift to sleep.

******

A particularly loud crash of thunder woke Arya up with a start. She had to look around to reorient herself since she wasn’t familiar with her surroundings.

Then she remembered.

Gendry.

The blue-eyed, black-haired hottie who was her baby daddy. 

This was his house.

And his bedroom.

And his bed.

She was alone and she remembered he said he would sleep on the couch.

Which was really very sweet of him.

She realized she was very thirsty and decided to go and get a glass of water from the kitchen. 

Arya threw the covers back and silently made her way to the door and opened it. It was fairly dark out, with the light of the moon shining through the picture window in the living room.

Something caught her eye. It was an arm. Hanging off the arm of the sofa. 

She crept over and took a peek. Gendry was sprawled out on the sofa, sound asleep. One arm was thrown over his head and the other resting on his muscular stomach. She felt a lurch inside her.

Arya saw the way the moonlight cascaded through the window and caressed his skin. It perfectly highlighted his muscles. The peaks and valleys of his torso and the smooth expanse of his chest. 

She was awestruck.

He looked beautiful in the daylight, but now? Now he looked positively angelic.

Her eyes roamed over his body, drinking him in. She could see the shadows his eyelashes cast against his cheeks and the bright halo of his hair against his pillow.

She drifted down the cut lines of his abs and to the thick thatch of dark hair leading down into the waistband of his shorts.

His very short shorts.

Holy gods.

Then she saw it. 

It was hard to miss.

The very detailed outline of his dick. 

Under his shorts. Clear as day.

Or night, rather.

Arya’s eyes went wide. 

It was clear he wasn’t wearing any underwear under those small gray shorts. 

She was transfixed.

The head was almost poking out of the leg of those tiny shorts. 

Her breath became ragged.

_ OK, Arya. Calm down. It’s just a penis. Granted it’s a very decent sized one, but still… _

Breaking her trance, she shuffled over to the sink, grabbed a glass from the drainer, filled it with water, and gulped it down. She was tempted to splash it all over herself, but she didn’t.

Arya replaced the glass and quickly made her way back to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She dove under the covers and she dreamed the most intense wet dreams she’d ever had.

******

Arya woke the next morning to the sounds of a shower running. She poked her head out from under the covers and looked around. The door to the bathroom was closed and the light was on under the door.

She took the opportunity to quickly change her clothes and sneak back out into the living room. 

She sat in the living room and looked at the large fish tank he had in the corner. It was a nice looking tank, with a nice variety of fish. She didn’t think he was a fish person, but apparently he was.

Arya was so transfixed by the fish that she didn’t hear the shower turn off and the bathroom door open. It wasn’t until she heard footsteps that she turned her head… and got an eyeful of just what Gendry was packing under those small shorts.

He strode out of the bedroom, naked as the day he was born. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, then proceeded to scratch his tight ass.

There he was, swinging freely. 

_ Holy shit. That was inside of me?! _

A small gasp escaped her. Gendry stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. 

His eyes grew as large as saucers and he quickly clapped his hands over his groin.

“Fuck, I totally forgot you were here! Shit…”

He turned red and quickly scuttled back into the bedroom, but still giving Arya a full view of his bare ass.

Arya had to giggle in spite of herself.

Things were definitely going to be interesting from here on out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made it all the way through? Congrats!!
> 
> The thirst is strong in this one. 
> 
> Thanks to Badge for helping me with ideas and brainstorming with me. It's been a lot of help. Love ya!


	3. Month Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya and Gendry get to know each other a little more. Gendry has an offer for Arya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was bitten by the writer's bug and churned out another chapter. I also have an idea for a college roommate AU somewhere down the line. The fun never stops.
> 
> I'd like to acknowledge the friends and followers I made in this fandom. There have been ups and downs for sure, but I'm glad I got to know so many of you and was able to form bonds with you.

[ ](https://imgur.com/6vyb4XA)

Gendry had offered to take her home so she wouldn’t have to call an Uber. It had been rather awkward, especially now that she’d seen him completely naked. Arya didn’t even remember if she’d seen him completely naked when they’d had sex.

It took all of her willpower not to glance at his crotch when he drove her back to the hotel. The tight t-shirt he wore that accentuated his muscles didn’t help matters any.

She snuck a peek at his profile while he was driving. He was striking. The strong line of his jaw, the angle of his nose, the contours of his lips. The way his black hair drooped in his eyes. She could feel the pressure build up inside of her again.

This could be a problem.

He pulled up to the hotel, a bewildered look on his face.

“You’re staying at a hotel? I thought you worked in this area?” he’d asked her.

“Yeah. It’s only temporary. Just until I can find a decent place. Well, now I have to find a place for me and the baby too…” she said, rather sheepishly. She’d felt embarrassed for some reason.

Gendry furrowed his eyebrows together, deep in thought. It was rather adorable.

“You ok?” she’d asked.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. You have my number, right? Just give me a call or a text if you need anything, OK?”

Arya nodded. “I will.”

She turned to face him before he drove off.

“Listen, Gendry, please don’t tell anyone about the pregnancy yet. It’s still early and I wanna play it safe for the time being, OK?”

He nodded, “Yeah, sure. I don’t really have anyone to tell, except Mrs. Fischer, and she probably knows already. She’s very sharp like that.”

Arya smiled and said good-bye.

Later that night, she’d done her weekly FaceTime with Sansa. She was dreading it.

Not that she hadn’t enjoyed the new relationship she had with her only sister. Time and circumstances had altered the formerly antagonistic relationship they’d once had.

“Soooooo, what’s the story?” Sansa had asked, glee in her voice. 

“Story about what?” Arya countered. Sansa was baiting her, she knew.

“You know, about the pregnancy. Mr. Hunky Dreamboat?”

Arya sighed. “You gotta promise me not to say anything to anyone, Sans. I mean it.”

“I promise, Ar. Are things OK?” Sansa asked, concern in her voice.

“So, I took some tests and went to the doctor and, it’s true. I’m pregnant…”

Sansa’s jaw dropped and a smile spread across her face.

“Oh, my Gods!! That’s great!!! It’s great, right?”

“Yeah, it is. But I don’t wanna announce anything right now, OK? It’s only been a few weeks and I don’t wanna jinx things, you know. Besides, I know mom will have a cow when she finds out, so I want to delay that as soon as possible…”

“Mom is more chill now since dad died, I don’t think she’d react as bad as you think she would,” Sansa countered.

“Maybe, but still…” Arya sighed.

“That reminds me, did you ever run into baby daddy again?”

Arya felt flush at the mere mention of Gendry. She had a feeling that Sansa noticed, even over the phone screens.

“Yes, I did run into him again. And I told him.”

“Annnnnd? Don’t leave me hanging, Arya?!”

“He was shocked at first, but then he really stepped up. Like he said he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life and support me throughout the pregnancy. I hope it wasn’t just talking, but he seemed pretty sincere,” Arya explained. She knew that a lot of guys, especially ones who looked like Gendry looked, would just blow her off and have a major freak out.

Gendry didn’t. He’d even fed her dinner and gave her a place to crash when it was too late to return to her place. 

True, she had seen more than she’d expected too, with his cock hanging free in broad daylight…

The thought of it still gave her shivers.

“So, is he still a Hunky Dreamboat, or did the dream become a reality?” Sansa asked, breaking Arya from her thoughts.

Arya groaned. She felt warm all of a sudden.

“Gods, Sansa, he’s gorgeous! He’s hot and built and tall with beautiful eyes and a full head of thick hair. Like, fitness model gorgeous… I don’t know what I’m gonna do?! I’ve been having such intense dreams about him…”

Sansa snickered. 

“That hot huh? I say strike while the iron is hot if you know what I mean… Remember when Jeyne said she’d have these intense sex dreams when she was pregnant? And that she and Robb would have all this amazing sex during her pregnancy?”

“Gods, Sans, I don’t wanna hear about Robb’s sex life…” Arya groaned, her face in her hands.

“I’m just saying. You should go for it. You’re hot, he’s hot. That baby of yours will be gorgeous. You’ll need to send me a picture of him sometime,” Sansa chuckled.

“I’m not hot…” Arya muttered quietly.

“Yes, you are! I know I said a lot of shit to you when we were kids. It was bullshit. You’re stunning, Ar. You know that one picture of Aunt Lyanna that dad had in his study? How everyone said how beautiful she was and how much Jon looks like her?”

“Yeah,” Arya answered.

“Well, you look just like her. Now that you’re an adult and grown into your looks, you are a knockout. It’s a wild kind of beauty. Carefree and natural. I think I was a little jealous because you were so carefree and I was always the good little girl…”

Sansa trailed off. The fights they had when they were younger was still a rather sensitive topic, even though they had both matured and grown past the childishness of their past.

“I guess you’re right…” Arya relented.

“I know I am,” Sansa said with confidence.

They ended the call and Arya laid back onto the mattress. Her hand automatically went to the area of her stomach in between her hips. She couldn’t feel anything yet, but she just knew something was there. Like an instinct. 

Sansa did have a point, though. The baby probably would be beautiful. Especially if they looked anything like Gendry.

Her thoughts drifted to his blue eyes and those muscles that had been highlighted by the moonlight. 

And then she let her mind drift to his cock and the way it had felt inside of her, filling her to the brim. 

Her hand drifted lower and lower until it was under her panties and on top of her mound. She stroked her fingers through her folds and closed her eyes, picturing large, rough hands with long fingers teasing at her entrance. His mouth on her sensitive skin, leaving a trail of hot, open mouth kisses up and down, lingering on her breasts and a wet tongue teasing at her nipples, causing them to harden into stiff peaks.

Her fingers found her bud of nerves and began to circle it, causing her to gasp. She so badly wanted Gendry’s fingers down there, toying and tormenting her, his long eyelashes brushing against her cheek as he sucked the skin of her neck into his mouth and nipped at her pulse point. His plump and pink lips caressing her nipples and lapping her skin.

Arya’s fingers worked feverishly at her clit, her other hand on her breast, pinching and rolling her nipples. Gendry had rough hands, and they felt amazing all over her skin. She did remember that at least. Other details were hazy and coming back to her in pieces, but she did remember his hands all over her. 

She soon came with a loud cry, her body quivering with arousal. It was nice, but it wasn’t the same as having someone do it for you.

All she wanted was him. She only really just met him and yet he filled her thoughts and her fantasies like no one else ever did. It was a sickness. She needed and wanted his scent to fill her and for his mouth and his tongue and his hands and especially his cock to pull out every ounce of pleasure from her that she’d never even known she was capable of. 

She rolled over onto her side once she came down from her orgasm. She had to catch her breath, which had been coming out in heaving gasps. 

Arya thought back to what Sansa had told her about their sister-in-law and how her pregnancy hormones had driven her wild. She had no idea how she was going to be able to endure several more months of this.

*******

Arya made sure to keep in contact with Gendry as she went into her second month. Mostly basic stuff like how she was doing and the like. She pointedly omitted any reference to how she was having very erotic dreams about him.

She did find out some more about him, like how old he was (25) and his birthday (March 21) and where he grew up (the slums of King’s Landing, not so lovingly called Flea Bottom).

He did mention he sent out for a DNA test for any hereditary illnesses and the like, which she thought was a little odd. Wouldn’t his family have a record of stuff like that?

She also noted he rarely discussed his family. She wasn’t going to pry though. 

Then the morning sickness came full force and she spent most mornings with her head either in the toilet or in a wastepaper basket. She told everyone at work that she had a stomach bug, but that excuse would only work for so long.

Arya had another appointment with Dr. Tarth, her OB/GYN, so she’d be sure to ask her if there was anything she could take to help with the morning sickness. And maybe ask about the horniness.

When the time came for her appointment, her doctor did say that there was something she could prescribe that would help with nausea and that she’d start Arya on a regimen of prenatal vitamins. 

“Any other questions?” Dr. Tarth asked, a smile on her broad face. 

Arya felt a blush rise on her cheeks.

“Yeah, I do have a question. Is it normal to be…” Gods, there has to be a better word for this, “… horny?”

Dr. Tarth chuckled. “Yes, it’s perfectly natural. And intercourse during pregnancy is perfectly fine. You may find that your genitals are more sensitive at this time, but that’s normal. Many women find intercourse during pregnancy to be quite pleasurable, and there is no harm to the baby, so your partner need not worry.”

_Partner? There is no ‘partner.’ Not that there isn’t someone I would mind ‘partnering’ with…_

Gods, her brain at times…

“OK, thank you so much, Dr. Tarth,” Arya said. 

She redressed and looked at the latest ultrasound. She could make out the bean-shaped image in the sea of black. There was an arrow pointing to it with ‘baby’ printed next to it. She sent a copy to Gendry.

He replied fairly quickly.

_G: Wow. It’s so small.  
A: Yeah. The doctor said it’s the size of a raspberry.  
G: Oh wow. It’s starting to feel real now.  
G: Not that I didn’t believe you before or anything.  
G: Just seeing it on the screen though…  
A: Yeah, I know what you mean._

Arya saw the three dots appear on her screen like he was typing something long. But when the words appeared, it wasn’t long.

_G: Can I come with you to your next appointment?_

Arya felt her heart clench. It was perfectly natural for him to want to come along. After all, he was the father, so he should.

_A: Yes, you can come. I’ll text you the date and time.  
G: Great!_

She was glad she decided to ask Dr. Tarth about the horniness before when he wasn’t there. That wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have with him in the room, leaving both of them flustered. 

Especially not with those damn dreams.

Each time she tried to get herself off, she would picture anyone, a celebrity, old crushes she’d had, anyone. However, those dark and intense blue eyes kept popping into her thoughts regardless. 

Damn him and his beautiful face and warm and rough hands that made her tingle in all the right places.

A week or so later she got another text.

_G: I was wondering if you wanted to stop by sometime.  
G: No pressure or anything, I just wanted to show you something._

Arya’s curiosity was piqued. What could he possibly show her?

_G: I can fix dinner if you want.  
A: OK, sounds great. When?  
G: Tomorrow at seven sound good?  
A: Yeah, that sounds great!  
A: See you then!_

Now she was really curious. He wouldn’t contact her just for a booty call, would he?

Not that she’d turn him down if he did.

Damn hormones.

She had to play it cool.

Cooooool as a cucumber.

She fretted over what she would wear. It’s not like it was a date or anything.

Or was it?

He did say he’d fix dinner.

Fuck.

Arya searched through her luggage. She’d been too preoccupied to keep searching for a place to live, so she was still at the hotel, living out of a suitcase. She really needed to get her shit together.

She figured a nice pair of skinny jeans, some ballet flats, and a nice top would work. She hadn’t started to show yet, so she could still fit in her jeans still. The denim was pretty stretchy since she got them for food babies, now they’d have to accommodate an actual baby. 

The next day she got off of work, freshened up and changed her clothes. This was the first time she’d actually driven herself over since she’d not be drinking. 

Arya saw Mrs. Fischer on her porch and waved. The kindly lady waved back, a smile on her face.

_She must think we’re dating. Wait’ll she finds out the truth. In good time though._

She rang the doorbell and Gendry opened the door after less than a minute. He was wearing a black long-sleeved henley and slim-fit dark wash jeans. His hair damp and tousled and his dark blue eyes dark and glittering. 

Arya felt heat pooling in the pit of her stomach.

_Godsdamn him. Why does he always have to look so fucking sexy?! Like I need this right now…_

“Hi, glad you could make it,” he said, a huskiness to his voice.

“Sure thing,” she replied, trying not to betray the own tinge of heat in her voice.

She stepped over the threshold into the warm coziness of his house. The bubbling of the aquarium and the delicious scent of food greeted her. She felt a warmth cascade over her that had nothing to do with the way her biology was betraying her at the moment. 

“It smells delicious,” she remarked as she removed her shoes and set down her bag.

“Thanks. I fixed some lasagna if that’s OK,” he said as he closed the door behind her.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine! I love lasagna.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

Arya took a seat on the sofa and tried not to think of the last time she was sitting there when he’d walked out of his bedroom naked. 

The thoughts came anyway.

“I never thought a guy would be so neat living on his own,” she commented.

He chuckled from the kitchen. “Yeah, I never used to be as a kid, but I took some anger management classes and it taught me to redirect my anger into something productive, so I clean whenever I feel angry or upset about things. It helps.”

Arya liked that he was beginning to open up to her about some of his past. She could sense a bit of surliness to him before, but she just thought it was a part of his personality.

“I was picked on some when I was younger, so I can relate. I took fencing and self-defense in order to deal with it,” she told him.

Gendry walked over to the living room and sat on the other end of the sofa. Close, but not too close. Like he didn’t want to smother her.

“I go to the gym quite a bit as well to work out some aggression. I don’t do a lot of weight lifting, just a lot of bodyweight work, like pull-ups and push-ups, some cardio and the like,” he explained. 

_It definitely shows…_

She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

Arya cleared her throat, feeling very dry suddenly.

“What was it that you wanted to show me?” she asked.

Gendry smiled in that disarming, panty-dropping way of his.

“It can wait until after dinner,” he said.

Arya typically would’ve argued with him, but facing those dimples and those eyes, she found that she couldn’t.

She doubted that it was to see his dick again since she’d already seen it. Besides, he didn’t seem the type to go and do something like that. He wasn’t a frat boy for Seven’s sake.

“Let’s eat, shall we?” he said, breaking her thoughts.

They went and sat at the table. Gendry dished out some lasagna and fixed them both ice water to drink. Arya figured that since she couldn’t drink, he wouldn’t either. 

They both filled the somewhat awkward silence with discussions about work. Math equations and the like. To look at him, people would assume Gendry was just some brainless pretty boy who was some sort of meathead, but he was smart.

Very smart.

He was just thoughtful. Instead of answering right away, he’d think and then answer. Arya could see a bright intelligence behind his eyes, and she was grateful to be linked to someone who understood the greater scope of things. 

Him being deliriously hot was just a major bonus.

She tried not to stare at his forearms as he cut into his food, the way they flexed and stretched. She also tried not to fixate on how well he filled out his shirt.

When they finished eating, she helped him clear the dishes and load the dishwasher. He turned to her and gently took her hands. They were warm and rough and she flashed back once again to the way they’d felt against her skin and how they had electrified her.

“Come with me, there’s something I’d like you to see,” he said softly.

Gendry led her over to where one of the spare rooms was. Arya’s heart began to race. Was this his way of saying he wanted to bone her? Again?

He opened the door and flicked on the light. Inside was a full-sized bed, a dresser, two nightstands, lamps, and a television. He stepped aside to let her look around.

“It’s— nice,” she said, quizzically.

“I’m glad you think so. It’s yours if you want it.”

Arya turned and looked at him questioningly.

“Huh?”

“You said you didn’t have a place to stay. I know we don’t know each other all that well and it might come off as pretty presumptuous of me, but I thought you could move in with me, at least until you want to find a place of your own… for you and the baby that is…” he drifted off, awkwardly.

Arya continued to stare at him. His cheeks began to redden and his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. He looked adorably boyish.

“You said you didn’t have an extra bed?”

“I went out and got one. The frame is used, but the mattress is new. I figured staying here would be better than staying at a hotel for who knows how long. And this way I can help you with anything you may need for when the baby comes,” came his answer.

Arya felt tears tugging behind her eyes. He’d gone out of his way to give her a place to stay, that felt like it was an actual home and not just a pit stop somewhere. She tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat.

“That’s really very sweet of you. You didn’t have to do this,” she choked out.

“Yeah, I did. I meant what I said, Arya. I’m not gonna leave you in the lurch. I figure, you make a person, you don’t just abandon them. Listen, I never knew my father. Hells, I never even knew his name until I was 18. From what I learned, he was a fat, drunk fucker who fucked his way across the entire country. I swore to myself that I’d never, ever be like him. And I mean it. I’m not gonna just leave you and the baby — _our baby_ — like he did me and my mom. I can’t do that. I wanna be a part of your lives if you’ll let me,” he said, earnestly. 

This was the most he’d ever opened up about his personal life. Arya was touched.

She looked around the room again. While it was smaller than the room she had when she was growing up, it was comfortable and cozy. It looked homey. 

Much better than a hotel room.

“You’ll have your own bathroom and everything,” Gendry interjected, pointing to a door next to hers.

Arya blinked back the tears threatening to fall. Her doctor had said she’d most likely be more emotional due to pregnancy hormones. 

She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her face in his broad chest. He seemed startled at first, but then he wrapped his muscular arms around her shoulders and gently squeezed back. She inhaled his scent which went straight to her core. 

That might be a problem.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, muffled against her hair.

Arya nodded vigorously.

“Yes, I’ll move in with you,” she said, pulling back from his arms, rather reluctantly. She liked the feel of being in his arms, warm and safe.

Gendry lifted her chin with his fingers and looked into her eyes.

“Good, I’m glad.”

For some reason, Arya sensed that he had the strongest urge to kiss her. 

And for some reason, she would’ve let him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks once again for reading and commenting! Even if it's something as simple as a couple of sentences, I appreciate all the feedback.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya moves in with Gendry, and a new normal begins to form. Arya also tries to work on her ever growing attraction to Gendry, and all that implies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to heat up in this one. Fair warning... or not.
> 
> If you wanna skip the sexy bits, stop at 'She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. He gently caressed her skin and it sent chills throughout her body.' and pick-up at the set of asterisks.

[ ](https://imgur.com/wvrhKNh)

Moving Arya into Gendry’s place wasn’t as much of a hassle as she thought. Physically, all she needed was to move her clothes, and a few of her personal belongings. Her furnishings were at Winterfell. Once she got her own place, she figured she’d just send for them.

Gendry did a lot of the heavy lifting, which gave Arya more opportunities to gawk at his muscles. She tried to dismiss her flushed appearance by telling him it was from moving. He told her not to overwork herself. It’s not like she could tell him the truth, that it was him getting her all hot and bothered. 

Once they had gotten her settled, they’d ordered a pizza. She really needed to talk him out of his love of pineapple and ham with bbq sauce. 

“I can help with cooking and stuff like that. I love to cook and I’m pretty good at it. I just figured since I live here now, I can do more,” she told him in between slices.

“That’s fine. Sometimes I get home late and don’t feel like fixing anything, so I go the easy route and have cereal or something,” he said.

Arya rolled her eyes. A strapping guy like him shouldn’t subsist on cereal and she almost told him as such, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him he was ‘strapping’. 

Gendry looked ahead at the movie they were watching on television and she found herself tracing the outline of his jaw with her eyes. She lingered on the way his dark hair flopped in his eyes and the strong line of his nose and the angle of his cheekbones. She glimpsed at the way the hair on the back of his neck curled and brushed against the collar of his shirt. She closed her eyes and pictured herself running her fingers through it and tangling it in between her hands as he had his head in between her thighs.

Arya opened her eyes quickly and went to get herself a cold glass of water. 

“Are you OK?” Gendry asked after her.

“Uhh, yeah. Just the peppers on the pizza hit me, that’s all,” she told him, trying to control herself. 

She was really going to have to learn to control herself.

*******

It was time for her twelve-week appointment. Gendry went with her and she hoped that Dr. Tarth wouldn’t bring up the horniness again with him there. If so, she’d have to will the floor to open up and swallow her whole. 

Arya was lying on the exam table with Gendry by her side. He was respectful enough to stay by her head and shoulders to minimize any awkwardness. 

“Hello again, Arya! How are we today?” Dr. Tarth greeted her. 

“Just fine, Dr. Tarth,” she replied.

Dr. Tarth’s eyes landed on Gendry. Her eyebrow quirked up. 

_Yeah, he gives me that reaction too…_

“Dr. Tarth, this is Gendry. He’s the father,” Arya introduced. 

Gendry held out his hand, “It’s a pleasure, Dr. Tarth. I’m Gendry Waters.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Waters,” Dr. Tarth returned. She gave a quick glance at Arya and had a gleam in her eye as if to say ‘You are so lucky, girl.’

Arya felt herself flush again. She’s been doing that quite a bit lately.

“So, this is a key appointment. It’s when we measure to see how the growth is doing and do an estimate for a due date. You may have noticed some early pregnancy symptoms have lessened, such as nausea and fatigue. Some expectant mothers sometimes feel dizziness or headaches from here on out, but that’s normal and we can give you treatment for that if you wish,” Dr. Tarth went on to explain.

She lifted the gown Arya was wearing and began to do the ultrasound. Arya instinctively reached out for Gendry’s hand and he took it, his warm and rough fingers interlacing with hers. 

Soon, the image of the baby was up on the screen. It looked more like a baby now rather than a bean. Arya gripped Gendry’s hand tighter as a feeling of warmth came over her. Her belly had only just begun to poke out, so until she saw the image on the screen, it still felt like a dream. 

Arya took a peek at Gendry and his eyes were transfixed on the screen, moist and shining. She realized this was his first time actually seeing the baby move and it must’ve been so overwhelming for him to see his child up on the screen, moving and bobbing along like a little cork. 

“The baby is roughly the size of a plum right now, which is just where we want them to be. We can’t determine the sex at this point just yet, but the chromosomal tests we did could tell us that, if you want,” Dr. Tarth told them.

Arya glanced at Gendry. He tore his eyes away from the screen for a moment to look into her, his blue eyes were bright and focused.

“I kinda want to wait, if that’s ok…” she said and Gendry nodded in agreement.

“That’s perfectly fine. Quite a few parents opt to wait to find out until birth.”

Dr. Tarth took some more tests and some measurements and gave them a rough estimate of the due date. She also printed off some copies of the ultrasound pictures for them to have. 

“If you want to make any birth announcements, now would be a good time. I know there are some who choose to wait until they’re a bit further along, but since we have a due date and everything is going well, you may want to inform any family and friends.”

“Yes, thank you, doctor,” Arya said. 

They went to the car and Gendry was still in a bit of a daze.

“Gendry? Are you ok?”

Gendry looked over to her, his eyes shining with tears.

“Yeah, I just… can’t believe I’m actually gonna be a father…”

Arya furrowed her brows.

“Are… you still ok with this?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m very ok with it. I just saw my baby, our baby, moving around and it was such an amazing thing,” he said, softly.

She reached her hand out and placed it on top of his.

“It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

*****

Arya had to decide just how she was going to make the announcement to her family. Since she lived far away, it was going to have to be distant. She didn’t want to text them something like this, so she made up a little birth announcement using a photo editing program and attached a copy of the ultrasound. 

She sent it and turned her phone and computer off for the night. She didn’t want to deal with the family blowing up her phone at that particular moment.

She had asked Gendry who he was going to tell, and he said the people at his work. He was going to pin a copy of the ultrasound to his work station. 

“What about your family?” she had asked.

He went quiet. 

“I don’t have any family to tell…” he said, quietly.

Arya wanted to kick herself at that moment. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a difficult topic.”

“It’s OK. It’s not something I tell a lot of people. Don’t worry about it.”

But she had worried about it. She had a tendency to forget that not everyone has a large family as she does. Even after her father died, she still had her mother and her siblings and their spouses. 

While it was true her mother and her never always got along, she still had her to turn to if she needed to. She figured Gendry must not have a mother. And he said he never knew his father until after he’d died. 

Arya lay awake in her bed later on that night, unable to sleep. Partially because of what Gendry had told her and how soft he looked when they got done at the doctor’s visit. Also due to the raging of her hormones and not being able to fulfill herself. 

She sighed.

Just on the other side of the house, was a very attractive man, who was young and virile and amazing at sex. Every cell in her body wanted him. Needed him to touch her and fill her to completion. 

She was stone-cold sober this time, as was he. While the first time they’d had sex was a bit of a drunken blur, she wanted to feel him deep inside of her while she could savor every moment. She bit her lip as she ran the scenario in her head. 

He _did_ say he’d do anything for her, right?

Including physically.

Arya grunted in frustration. Why couldn’t she get his stupidly perfect blues eyes and his stupidly perfect black hair and his stupidly perfect muscles out of her head?!

She threw her covers off and swung her legs out of the bed. Three months. She’d held out for three agonizing months. 

And here was an opportunity presenting itself under the same damn roof.

_Fuck it._

She got up and padded across the room and into the living room. She could see his door was open halfway. She peeked in.

Gendry was lying on his side, facing away from her. She could see the outer edge of the bull tattoo on the back of his shoulder. Obviously he was shirtless.

She slowly opened the door and crept closer to him. In the low light, she could see the curves of his muscles and the rise and fall of his chest as he slept. His dark hair was swept over his forehead and his lashes danced over his upper cheeks.

Gods, he was so beautiful.

Arya reached out and lightly touched his shoulder. His skin was warm. And surprisingly soft for a guy. Growing up with four brothers she knew most guys weren’t all that keen on skincare. She had Theon’s ashy elbows as proof.

He didn’t move, so she was more persistent. Gendry groaned and stirred. He raised his hand to his eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them as he sat up. The sheet fell to his lap and she could see the trail of dark hair leading down to his groin. 

She felt herself getting wet.

“Arya? Is everything OK?” he asked, groggily.

Somehow, his sleepy voice was even sexier than his regular voice. Her nipples puckered.

“Oh, yeah. I’m OK. I just… wanted to see how you were doing…” she said, lamely. 

_Gods, I’m such a coward…_

She was starting to scoot back, but he reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

“Arya, what’s really wrong? You can tell me.”

She looked down, unable to look him in the eyes. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she could feel her breath quicken. His touch had electrified her.

He shifted in the bed and tugged her down to sit next to him. He adjusted the sheets over himself, but she could still see that he was naked. 

Boy, could she see.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you feeling OK? Are you feeling any stomach cramps or dizziness?”

Gods he was so sweet. 

She may as well fess up and tell him the truth.

“On my prior visit, Dr. Tarth had mentioned something about my sex drive going into overdrive during pregnancy. And, well, it’s true. My libido has cranked up and I can’t get that night we had together out of my head, and… I wanna have sex with you again,” she blurted out. 

Gendry blinked at her a couple of times.

“You— you wanna have sex with me again?” he stammered out. She wasn’t certain, but she thought she could see his face go red.

“Yes…” she answered, bashfully.

When did she get so shy?!

Oh, yeah. It had everything to do with the man who was naked in front of her.

Gendry reached up and placed a hand on her cheek. He ran his thumb across her lips. She practically moaned.

“I told you that I would help you, right? With anything. And if it’ll help you, then yes, I will have sex with you. If that’s what you really want,” he said, tenderly.

The softness and gentleness went straight to her core, causing her to feel a familiar longing pool deep inside her. 

Arya nods her head.

“It is. I want us to make love, not a drunken fuck.”

He placed his forehead against hers. She breathed him in.

“You really can’t stop thinking about that night? Because neither can I. I haven’t been with anyone since then, because I keep thinking of you…” he whispered to her.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. He gently caressed her skin and it sent chills throughout her body.

Gendry runs his hands up her bare thigh and stops at the hem of her sleep shirt. He fingers it a little as if he’s waiting for her to give the go-ahead. She decides to shuck her shirt off and throw it aside. The cool air of the room and her growing arousal causes her bare breasts to harden.

He hovers above her lips.

“Do you have any condoms with you?” he asks her, voice barely above a whisper.

She snickers. “I think it’s a little too late for that…”

He dropped his head onto her shoulder and she can feel him shaking slightly with laughter.

He lifts his head again.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

Gendry traces his thumb over her jaw and leans in. He places his lips to hers and kisses her tenderly. He skims his tongue over the seam of her lips and she opens them, eager for his tongue against hers. His other hand slides up her side and around her back, her skin prickling with the sensation of the pads of his fingers, rough and yet soft.

Arya wraps her arm around his neck and digs her fingers into the soft, thick hair at the base of his neck. She places her other hand at the apex of his thigh, splaying her fingers against the muscles of his thigh and buttocks. It’s very soft against her touch.

He places his arm around her waist and drags her into his lap. His sheet falls away and she can feel his growing erection against her thigh. Their kisses grow deeper and more intense. She really wants to rip off the panties that stand between him and her center. 

She grunts into his mouth and starts to wriggle.

Gendry pulls away.

“What’s wrong? Is it too much?”

Arya smiles at his sincerity.

“No. I just want to get my panties off…”

She hears him snickering.

“I can take care of that…” he told her, huskily.

He gently takes a hold of her and shifts them where she’s laying on her back on the bed. Her bump is peeking out over the edge of the waistband of her underwear, small but still visible.

He places a gentle hand on top of it.

“Don’t worry about our little nugget. They’ll be just fine. I’ll be gentle.”

She smiled, loving how tender he is.

“I’m not worried,” she said, softly.

Gendry placed his hands on the sides of her hips and hooked his fingers under the waistband and began to draw them down her legs. She was bare and exposed before him, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. 

He had to detangle himself from the sheets and she could see his cock was fully erect, throbbing and glistening with precum. She licked her lips. She remembered how beautifully it had filled her and the way it felt in her mouth as she sucked him off on the night in question, as she came to refer to it.

He hovered over her and looked deeply into her eyes. His dark, long eyelashes framing his dark blue eyes which burned with intensity. Why was it that guys had such beautiful lashes? 

Gendry leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I want to make you mewl like a kitten… like you did that night.”

His voice was low and husky and it sent chills down her spine and heat straight to her core. She moaned.

Gendry smirked and Arya felt arousal prickle over her skin.

Good Gods, he hadn’t even done anything yet and she was already this amped up.

His hand wandered down to her mound and he slowly let his fingers drift through her folds and they brushed against her clit. Arya felt a shudder go through her. 

“Gods, you’re already wet,” he huffed out against her ear. Her pussy pulsed at his touch and at his voice.

Gendry slowly went deeper as he stroked her and inserted his fingers into her wet heat, pumping in and out with measured strokes. Arya felt herself clench around his fingers.

With his other hand, he dragged his fingers over her skin, landing on one of her breasts. He palmed it and began to gently massage her soft flesh into stiff peaks. He took his mouth and latched onto her other breast, suckling and licking at her nipple. Arya arched her back off of the mattress and gripped the sheets underneath her.

Gendry lifted his head up briefly.

“Gods, I love your tits. You have amazing tits...”

“They’re not that big…” Arya gasped out.

“They’re perfect,” he whispered and began to lap at her skin, nipping and tugging with his teeth.

A jolt of electricity cascaded over her. Her breasts were especially sensitive now and his attentions were causing her body to vibrate with sensations.

His long and rough fingers continued to pump and twist inside of her and his thumb played with her clit and she could feel herself building to her climax. Her breathing quickened and the muscles in her body began to quiver. 

Soon, she was pushed over the edge and her body stiffened as her orgasm rolled over her. Gendry gently eased her down as she rode out her pleasure.

“Holy fuck,” she choked out. 

“You like that?” Gendry asked, smugly.

“Holy fuck yes…”

Arya began to gather her thoughts and realized she still wasn’t wholly satisfied.

“Gendry… I need you to be inside of me. Now…”

“As m’lady commands…”

Gendry shifted until he was between her thighs. She could feel the heat of him surrounding her. 

He was propped up on his elbows and he slowly inched forward. Arya could feel his length against her entrance and she could already feel herself moisten at his approach.

He was making sure he was being careful as to not crush her with his body weight. He was barely even straining with the effort of holding himself up. 

Yeah, he definitely works out, not like it wasn’t already evident by his muscles…

The soft moonlight that was streaming through the window cast him in a bluish-white glow and he looked utterly beautiful. His black hair shined and highlighted how silky soft it was against his skin and made his blue eyes even more prominent. He was luminous.

Of course, the moonlight also highlighted the details of his muscles.

Gendry had sheathed himself inside and waited as she adjusted to his size. Gods, he was big. But he felt so good.

“Fuck, Arya. You’re so tight…” he grunted out.

Arya gripped the fleshy, muscular globes of his firm ass and nudged him forward. He took the message and began to move and thrust into her. He was slow and deliberate, drawing his cock almost entirely out and then pushing it back in. He made sure to drag his length against her clit, eliciting a long moan from Arya, and the coil within her belly began to tighten.

Gendry trailed hot kisses over her skin and sucked and nipped at her flesh as she drove into her. She gripped his soft hair and guided him to where she wanted his mouth to go. 

She also simply loved having her hands in his hair. 

Gendry lifted her up with him as he kneeled on the bed and the angle shift caused him to piston into her even deeper and she moaned and threw her head back. The sound of their skin slapping together and the feel of their sweat and the scent of their coupling permeated the air. 

Arya’s walls clenched around Gendry’s cock and she could feel him beginning to pulse within her. She clawed at his back and dug her blunt fingernails into the muscles of his arms and shoulders.

The dam burst and her climax hit her like a freight train. Her thighs clamped around his waist and her cunt milked Gendry’s cock as he built up to his edge and fell off soon after. His cock twitched and pumped as he came, his breathing growing ragged as he clutched at her and his head sagged against her shoulder. 

Arya loved the feeling of him, bare and hard within her, the softness of his skin brushing against the bare skin of her sensitive folds. He was so velvety and smooth within her. 

She came down from her climax and Gendry pulled out of her and collapsed to the side, being sure to avoid crushing her. They both panted and gasped as the aftermath of their exertions began to catch up with them. 

“So, did that help you?” he gasped out, taking his strong arms and encircling her and tucking her into his broad chest.

She nodded, unsure if she could trust her voice. 

“Was that a yes then?” he huffed into her ear, causing a warm to bloom through her again.

“Y-yes,” she managed to choke out.

“Good.”

He nuzzled into her, burying his nose into her neck. Arya soon felt his breathing even out as he fell asleep. She settled into him and soon drifted off herself, feeling well sated and satisfied.

*****

Arya woke and found herself surrounded by a firm warmth. She took a few moments to adjust to her surroundings only to realize that she wasn’t in her room. Yet, the room she was in was very familiar. 

As was the ache in between her thighs. 

She flashed back to several months prior to when she woke up in this room before, hungover and well fucked.

Her eyes wandered around the room and as her awareness hit her more, she felt a pair of strong arms surrounding her and a huff of breath on her neck.

Gendry.

She’d slept with him again the night before. 

And it was amazing.

The key point, she realized, was that she was sober when they did it. 

Yes, sex with him was much better sober.

Arya was also acutely aware of something else.

His hand squeezing her breast.

It wasn’t painful. It was a gentle squeeze. More like kneading. It sent a thrill through her.

She also realized his other hand was placed gently on her stomach. The warmth radiating from his hand was oddly comforting. And his touch was tender.

Like he was protecting something.

A smile played at her lips. Their lovemaking the night before was slow and deliberate. 

Like she was treasured.

Arya slowly turned in his arms and gazed at his sleeping face.

He looked so peaceful. 

And beautiful.

She reached over and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes and off his forehead. She could see his eyes move under his eyelids.

Gendry’s pretty lashes fluttered open.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispered to him.

He smiled and his dimples came out in full force.

“You didn’t. I’m glad you stayed.”

Arya felt herself flush. He was remembering their first night together. When she rushed out of his house like she was ashamed.

“Me too.”

Gendry ran his hand across her belly. He cast his eyes down. At first, she thought he was checking out her tits since he’d said he liked them.

Then she realized his attention was focused on his hand tracing patterns on her stomach.

“I think bean sprout is just fine,” she assured him.

His eyes flicked back up to hers, his blue orbs latched onto hers.

“I know. I was just thinking.”

Arya reached up and touched his face. He had a faint stubble along his jawline.

“What about?” she asked.

Gendry paused a bit and Arya wondered if he’d heard her.

“Are you scared? Of being a mother?”

His voice was soft. She wondered if there was an underlying question he wasn’t asking.

“A little. But, I’ve always liked kids. I used to babysit when I was a teenager and I really took to it. I knew I wanted children of my own someday, I just never knew it’d be quite so soon. It’s taken me a bit to adjust to the idea of being pregnant and what that all entails, but I think I can do it. And I’m glad you’re here too,” she added.

Gendry paused. Arya could tell he was thinking. His eyebrows got that little line between them whenever he was deep in thought, she’d observed.

“I’m terrified,” he said at last. “I told you I never knew my father until after I was 18 and he was dead. His lawyer contacted me and told me. I felt resentful that he’d never bothered to reach out before. But then, if he had, I’d probably slam the door in his face and rip him a new asshole for abandoning me and my mom, especially when she struggled so much taking care of me when we barely had two coins to rub together.”

He paused and began to trail his fingers up and down Arya’s arm languidly.

She waited for him to continue.

“I made a vow to myself that I’d never do that. That I’d never fuck some woman and get her pregnant and just leave her. And here I am, doing the same thing as he did. I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. I’m scared I’m gonna fuck up and that my kid will grow up resenting me…”

He trailed off, his voice choked with emotion.

Arya tugged his face towards hers. She placed her forehead against his. 

“Listen to me, Gendry Waters. You are nothing like him. Nothing. As soon as you found out about the baby, you stepped up like a champ. You made sure to stay in contact with me. You even made a space for me in your home. You are very engaged with this pregnancy and that tells me you’ll be just as engaged when the baby comes. That tells me something about your character and what a good person you are,” she said sternly.

_Not to mention extraordinarily hot and really good at sex. Really good._

A small smile tugged at his lips. 

“Thanks…”

Arya snuggled against him again, not wanting to leave the warmth of his arms and the safety she felt within their strength. 

“There’s this story my dad once told me,” she began. “There was an alcoholic who had two sons. One decided that he wasn’t going to be like his dad and he worked hard and became a success in the business world. The other one thought that no matter what, he’d become a deadbeat alcoholic just like him, so he did. When they were on their deathbeds, the God of Death visited them and asked why they turned out the way they did. They both had the same answer. ‘Because my father was an alcoholic.’ Your father’s actions may have created you, but they don’t define you.”

Arya could feel him smile against her forehead. He gave her a peck and a gentle squeeze.

“That’s a good story. Thanks for telling it,” he said.

She leaned into his chest and placed her hand on one muscular pec. 

“Sure thing,” she replied. 

They stayed like that for a little while longer. Arya found that she liked waking up next to him and enveloped in his warm, strong arms. She felt at peace and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy? Leave a comment. Love to all of you!!


	5. Month Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya deals with her family and the repercussions of the bomb she dropped as she also deals with her increasing attraction to Gendry... and if it's solely her hormones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey, everyone! Sorry for taking so long. The muse was fighting me a bit on this one, but I got her out! There's plenty of thirst going on in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!!!

[ ](https://imgur.com/pQiMruh)

Arya awoke once again encircled in Gendry’s strong arms. They had both dozed off after their sexual encounter.

She looked over at him. He was sleeping peacefully. 

Gods he was beautiful.

She knew she kept that circular thought in her mind, about his blinding attractiveness. The deep pools of blue of his eyes that she wanted to dive into. The silken strands of shaggy black hair that would flop into his eyes in the most alluring way. Those dimples in his cheeks that made her insides melt like butter. Not to mention that hardened body.

Arya wondered if her draw towards him was purely physical. He did make her come in more ways than she could count. The feel of his hands over her skin, the way his mouth moved over her, the way his cock felt inside of her. 

A shiver went down her spine at the memory.

She did manage to extract herself from his arms and gather her things, what there were. An old oversized shirt she stole from Jon that she slept in. Of his favorite band, The Night Watch. Her panties, which were cold and damp from her arousal the night before.

She knew she’d have to turn her phone and computer back on and face the music from her family eventually. 

She threw one more look over her shoulder as she exited his bedroom. He was lying on his back, the sheets barely covering his waist. His muscular chest rising up and down with the steady movement of his breathing. If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she saw movement down by his crotch. 

It was his cock.

Twitching.

Arya made herself scarce before she was overcome by the urge to mount him and ride him into submission.

A shower.

That’s what she needed right now.

And then maybe breakfast.

She ducked into her bedroom and gathered some clean clothes and scurried into her bathroom. The water felt like heaven on her skin. She made sure to clean the remnants of Gendry’s cum from her pussy, it still being swollen and throbbing from their escapades. She ran a finger through her folds and felt a wave of pleasure course through her. 

Gods, she was hopeless.

******

After breakfast, Arya braced herself for the onslaught to come. She turned her phone on and scrolled through the missed texts and messages.

A few were excited. Ygritte and Jeyne were over the moon at her announcement. Jeyne offered tips and advice for any pregnancy-related questions Arya may have, which she thought was sweet.

Ygritte was thrilled at the prospect of being an aunt again. 

Sansa unceremoniously told her that she was going to come down in the next few weeks and see her. And that Willas sent his love and congratulations. 

Arya had to smile at herself. She was happy Sansa was able to find someone loving and kind to marry. After her debacle with Joffrey, who was an abusive asshole, Arya was worried about Sansa’s mental state. 

But, she was able to heal and met Willas through her friendship with Margaery. He'd lost a leg from cancer, but he had a top of the line prosthetic and barring a minor limp, you’d never be able to tell. 

Bran’s message was pretty to the point.

_“Congratulations. I had a feeling.”_

Bran had always had this sort of sixth sense. She didn’t know if he’d always had it, or he’d acquired it after he fell out of a tree when he was a kid and lost the use of his legs. 

Rickon’s was even shorter.

_“Awesome.”_

Arya was less thrilled about the ones she received from Jon and her mother.

**Jon:** _WTF?!?! How are you pregnant?!?  
Who is he?!?!   
He’s not some sleaze, is he?!?   
I can do a background check on him.   
YOU’RE HAVING SEX WITH RANDOM STRANGERS?!?!_  
 _ **YOU’RE HAVING SEX?!?!?**_

Arya rolled her eyes. Jon would forever see her as the little nine-year-old girl she was when he left for the military. This in spite of the fact she was currently 23 years old and had been sexually active for quite some time now.

She was glad he had met and married Ygritte when he was assigned to duty further North. She could calm him down.

Arya scrolled through all of the missed calls on her phone. Mostly from her mother.

Then the texts.

**Catelyn:** _Arya, what do you mean you’re pregnant?  
Call me.  
Call me now.  
NOW.  
What will people say when they find out my youngest daughter went and got herself pregnant without being married?!_  
 ** _Stop ignoring your mother!!!_**

Arya grit her teeth. Leave it to her mother to care about what other people thought.

She read the message from Robb.

**Robb:** _Have you been seeing someone that we didn’t know about? Please tell me you knew him before he got you pregnant?_

Arya sighed. Why did her family have to be so fucking dramatic all the time?

She scrolled through her contact list until she got to Sansa. She pressed the button and waited as it rang.

Sansa barely let it ring twice before she answered.

“Hello, little mama,” she sang into the phone.

“Sansa, please…” Arya pleaded.

Sansa giggled on the other line.

“I’m just teasing. It’s a big sister privilege.”

“Fiiiiine,” Arya relented. She could take this good-natured teasing better than the more malicious teasing from when they were younger.

“Have you heard from mom yet?”

“If you mean have I been dodging her calls and text messages, yes. I can hear the scenario now. ‘Arya Lyanna Stark! How could you allow yourself to get pregnant before getting married! And from a stranger! What would your father say if he were still alive!’ I’m really not in the mood,” Arya groaned.

Sansa chuckled. “Well, she wouldn’t be mom if she didn’t, you should know this by now.”

Arya leaned back on the cushions of the living room sofa. 

“I know I’ll have to face the music eventually. I just need to prepare myself first. Like maybe when this kid is in college…”

“I have some free time in a couple of weeks. I thought I’d come down for a visit and we can get a few things for you and the baby. You’ll need some maternity clothes and the baby will definitely need a few things,” Sansa continued. 

Arya groaned. She never was much of a shopper. She was very low key in her style choices and tended to have a few stock items she rotated out here and there. 

She started to object when Sansa interrupted.

“And before you say no, let me remind you that you can’t go around every day in just baggy shirts and leggings. You’re wearing some now, aren’t you?”

Arya looked down at her clothes. She was indeed wearing a pair of black Capri length leggings and an old shirt she swiped from either Robb or Jon. 

“Well, I—”

Arya’s attention was drawn to Gendry coming out of his bedroom, freshly showered and wearing a pair of low slung dark grey sweatpants.

And nothing else.

His jet black hair was damp and swept away from his forehead from when he’d run his fingers through it. 

His skin was glistening and a few stray water drops had begun to creep down his chiseled chest, in between his pecs. 

Her eyes followed the rivulets of water as they made their way down his torso and in between the valley of his six-pack on his abdomen and into the lush forest that was his happy trail that led down into the waistband of his sweats.

Arya could feel her pussy pulse and the heat pool in the pit of her stomach as she watched him move into the kitchen and her gaze lingered on the strong planes of his back muscles and the dimples on his lower back and the tight curve of his ass.

“Aryaaaaaaa… Earth to Arya…” Sansa’s voice broke through the haze of lust over Arya’s vision.

“Oh, sorry Sans. I-I lost my train of thought,” she stammered out.

“Mm-hmm. I bet you did. Now I’m gonna come down and see this ‘distraction’ for myself,” Sansa declared.

Arya grimaced. 

*******

After the phone call with Sansa, and with the image of a barely clad Gendry still in her mind, Arya sucked in a breath and called her mother. She knew she had to do it sooner or later, so she might as well get it over with.

“Hello Arya,” her mother’s voice greeted her from the other end of the line.

“Hello, mother. My phone died and I had to wait for it to recharge again,” Arya said. She wished it’d be harder to lie to her own mother, but it had gotten a bit easier as time wore on.

“I see,” came Catelyn’s clipped reply. “And you’re absolutely certain you weren’t trying to avoid answering me?”

Arya groaned internally. Why was her mother always able to hit the nail right on the head?

“OK, fine. Maybe I was a coward and wanted to wait until I was better prepared to answer questions. Is that better?”

“Don’t sass me, young lady. I’m still your mother and you should treat me with respect,” Catelyn snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Arya ground out. The last thing she wanted was to get into it with her mother over the phone. It was almost as bad as doing it in person.

“Now,” her mother continued. “Care to explain to me how the youngest daughter of the Stark family managed to find herself unwed and pregnant?”

A smart ass reply was on the tip of her tongue, but Arya bit it back. She had a lot of practice at that while growing up under the watchful eye of her socialite mother. 

Arya sighed. “I went out for a night of drinks—”

“Wait. So you got drunk and some stranger took advantage of you?!” 

“No, mom. We were _both_ drunk and we kinda took advantage of each other. I thought I was using protection, but as it turns out, condoms can expire. And I had taken a round of antibiotics for a cold I was recovering from, so it canceled out my birth control, and so there you have it. And now I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, Arya…”

Arya could feel the waves of her mother’s disappointment and disapproval pouring out through the phone lines.

“Are you in any way prepared to raise this child alone? Are you even going to keep this child?!” Catelyn asked, her voice rising in pitch.

“I’m not going to be alone. Gendry has agreed to co-parent with me. He gave me a place to stay until I can find a more permanent place of my own. He’s been very helpful.”

“Gendry? Is that the father? What do you know about him, or his family?”

Arya sighed. Leave it to her mother to worry about the pedigree of her baby daddy. 

“No, I don’t know much about his family. From what I’ve heard, his mother died and his father wasn’t in the picture. He’s a good person, mother. He worked his way through school and is a successful engineer. He’s very nice and kind and he’s not much older than me. He’s only 25,” Arya explained.

_And a beast in the sack._

Arya could hear Catelyn click her tongue. 

“Don’t tell me his parents were never married? Arya. What kind of stability does he have? What about his background?”

Arya could feel the rage build up inside her. She pinched the bridge of her nose to keep her temper at bay.

“What difference does it make if his parents were never married?! He’s a good person and he works hard. Just because he’s not from an esteemed house doesn’t mean he’s worthless. You can’t keep blaming people for the circumstance of their birth. They have no control over that. And if you are going to be like this when the baby is born, then maybe you shouldn’t come around at all!”

Arya hit end and tossed her phone on her bed. She seethed. She had this knot growing in her stomach, which always seemed to happen whenever she spoke to her mother. She tried to ignore the burning tears behind her eyes and laid down on her back, practicing the meditative techniques she learned in yoga class.

She felt her phone buzzing next to her on the bed. She knew it was her mother again, but she couldn’t bring herself to answer. Not now especially.

Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

*******

A few weeks later, not long after her sixteen-week appointment, Sansa had come down to Storm’s End for a visit. Arya was between excited and anxious. While her relationship with her sister had improved, she always felt that she’d never measure up, especially under the scrutinizing gaze of her mother. Her disastrous phone call had left her on edge.

Sansa had come into their little bungalow like a redheaded whirlwind. She scooped Arya up into her arms and hugged her like they hadn’t seen one another in years.

Which, truth be told, they hadn’t.

Sansa stood back after releasing Arya and gave her an appraising look.

“You are g l o w i n g, little sister! Pregnancy looks good on you!”

Arya had to bite her lip at Sansa’s enthusiasm. While her belly had started to become more prominent, due to her size and fitness levels she was still able to wear her regular clothes, with minor adjustments. And from the front, she didn’t look pregnant at all. 

Arya had informed Gendry that Sansa would be coming for a visit for a few days. He’d ask if she was staying with them or at a hotel. Arya had mentioned that Sansa might be staying with her. 

Gendry simply nodded in his usual quiet way. 

Arya had gotten accustomed to Gendry’s quietness. While he had seemed more relaxed around her, he was still very much closed off and kept to himself. They hadn’t really discussed the sexual tension between them. 

Or if they were going to fall into bed together again any time soon.

Which Arya found she rather missed.

For numerous reasons.

The two of them had slightly different schedules. So she didn’t often see him before he left for work and most of the time, he’d be home when she got back or he came back from the gym, dressed in his gym clothes. 

Sansa eyed Arya’s belly.

“You’re barely even showing! It’s kinda disgusting,” Sansa exclaimed.

“My doctor said it’s mostly due to my build and fitness levels. And I’m carrying low,” Arya explained.

“Hmmm, must be having a girl. I heard girls sit lower in the womb,” Sansa said, matter of factly.

Arya shrugged, “We’re keeping the gender a mystery for now.”

Sansa waved like there was a bug in front of her face.

“We can find some gender-neutral stuff for the baby. And some cute and stylish maternity clothes for you. I know Jeyne offered some of her stuff, but you two have such different styles.”

Arya gestured to the sofa. “Let’s sit for a moment, Sansa. Get a load off before we go shopping, ok? Maybe put your stuff in my room or something.”

They sat on the sofa, Arya trying to gather her thoughts. In the span of a few short months, her life had turned upside down and she still felt as though she’d wake up and everything would be a dream.

As they were talking, Arya could hear Gendry come into the house from the back yard, having been tinkering in his workshop. He was wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, his muscles on full display. Arya had to take a sip of the water she had gotten for both her and Sansa. 

It seems all of the moisture had left her mouth and pooled in between her legs.

Holy shit the effect that man had on her.

Sansa’s attention was drawn to him as he entered the living room. Her copper-colored eyebrows shot up and her light blue eyes widened. Arya felt her face flush which then spread to the rest of her body.

She cleared her throat and made introductions.

“Sansa, this is Gendry. Gendry, this is my sister, Sansa.”

Gendry nodded towards Sansa.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Sansa replied in return. 

He threw a thumb over his shoulder towards his bedroom.

“I’m kinda dirty, so I’m just gonna clean up. You ladies have a nice time.”

“OK, see you around Gendry.”

He nodded and turned to his room, silently closing his door after him.

Sansa turned her attention back to Arya. Arya braced herself for what she knew was coming.

“Oh. My. Gods. _**HE**_ was the one who got you pregnant?!?! That dreamy, hot, tall, drink of water?! Your baby is gonna be so gorgeous! You are the luckiest girl alive, Arya.”

Arya lowered her head into her hands and willed the floor to open up and swallow her alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for sticking with me!! I appreciate each and every one of you! 
> 
> Special thanks go out once again to Badge, who held my hand and gave me loooots of support and encouragement. Love ya!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Mrs. Fischer isn't a part of the ASOIAF universe and she doesn't have a Westerosi name, but I didn't feel like digging for one, so I just came up with one.


End file.
